The woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptinae) comprise a subfamily of suboscine passerine birds endemic to the neotropics but most authorities now place them as a subfamily of the ovenbirds (Furnariidae). They superficially resemble the Old world treecreepers, but they are unrelated and the similarities are due to convergent evolution. The subfamily contains around 57 species in 15 to 20 genera. As many as 19 species of woodcreeper may co-occur in some areas of the Amazon, while in other rainforests, such as those in Costa Rica, the numbers are much lower. They feed mainly on insects taken from tree trunks. Woodcreepers often form part of the core group at the centre of flocks attending army antswarms.

Woodcreepers are arboreal cavity-nesting birds. They can be difficult to identify in that they tend to have similar brown upperparts, and the more distinctive underparts are hard to see on a bird pressed against a trunk in deep forest shade. The bill shape, extend/shape of spots/streaks, and call are useful aids to determining species.